95. 'Any Time at All'

Main Writer: Lennon Recorded: June 2, 1964 Released: July 20, 1964Not released as a single

"Any Time at All" shows how much the Beatles learned from their hero Buddy Holly. The song has all the Holly trademarks — the jangling guitars, the openhearted generosity of the lyric, the urgent emotion in the voices. It's a pledge of 24-hour devotion to a girl, with Lennon speaking his mind in a brash way ("Call me tonight, and I'll come to you") that would have made Holly proud — even though Lennon himself wasn't thrilled with the results. (He dismissed the song as my "effort at [re]writing 'It Won't Be Long.'")

If the Beatles play the song like they're in a hurry, it's because they were — this was recorded on the last day of the sessions for A Hard Day's Night, before they departed for a monthlong tour. (Unfortunately, the morning after they cut "Any Time at All," Ringo collapsed with tonsillitis and pharyngitis, so they went to Denmark with a replacement drummer.) "Any Time at All" reprises a George Martin trick from "A Hard Day's Night" by using a piano solo echoed lightly note-for-note on guitar by Harrison. Never a hit, "Any Time" became a fan favorite.